The national media remembers Jerry Jones' comments about Johnny Manziel in 2014 -- and there were plenty of them -- and makes the easy guess that the next stop for the former Heisman winner is Dallas. There are ample reasons to think this is a bad idea for reasons on and off the football field.
But I think there's also some merit to it. And it would be foolish for anyone to rule it out.
We are all tempted by the bargain bin at the store, the discount rate that's too good to be true. Consider how Jones was tempted to select Manziel with the 15th pick in the 2014 draft before capitulating to the chorus of Zack Martin supporters (or Manziel detractors) in the room. Now look at the situation.
Manziel almost certainly will be made available by Cleveland although it won't happen until the organization finds a new general manager and head coach after cleaning house Sunday. That's the one thing the Browns do really well. Rearrange furniture. In fact, the last five coaching changes in the AFC North have been Browns' coaching changes.
The Cowboys under Jones are a model of stability by comparison. Regardless, Manziel's future in Cleveland seems non-existent and he isn't going to cost anyone a first-round pick.
Manziel did not attend the Browns' final regular season game. He didn't have to be on the sidelines because he had been ruled out with a concussion, but he was supposed to report to the trainers and medical staff. He did show up at the team's facility Monday.
It's just another in a long line of violations by Manziel that suggest either he has not matured in any way since leaving Texas A&M or he was desperate to get the heck out of Cleveland.
His off-the-field behavior is the opposite of what any team needs from its quarterback. If you assume I'm sympathetic toward Manziel, who spent 10 weeks in a rehab facility last spring, because of my own documented problems with alcohol, I am not. I feel empathy for those who definitively demonstrate they are trying everything they can do to recover.
Manziel has never even addressed his return to drinking since leaving rehab. Until he deals with it openly and honestly, why should any of us take him seriously?
This is one of the three issues for the Cowboys or any team considering giving him his second chance in the NFL. The other two, in their own way, are equally significant.
One, naturally, is his actual play. And that's where I start getting tempted. Given limited opportunities with a bad team missing its best receiver, Josh Gordon, Manziel's play improved dramatically in his second year. It's not like he removed all doubts. He simply reopened the discussion of whether the undersized, run-first Heisman winner can alter his style enough to succeed in the NFL.
Manziel was 2-4 in his six starts. If that's not great, the Browns were 1-9 the rest of the way. He threw for two touchdowns against Tennessee in one win, passed for 270 yards against San Francisco in another. In defeat against superior teams, Manziel threw for 372 yards against Pittsburgh and ran for 108 against Kansas City.
The idea that he simply cannot play in the NFL is dead. The question now is at what level and how often? As I said, he missed the Browns' finale due to a concussion. Given his nature for scrambling, there are almost certainly more concussions in his future. You have to think his avoidance of them will play a major role in how long he lasts in the NFL.
Would the Cowboys' future be better served by the club landing Cal's Jared Goff or Memphis' Paxton Lynch with the fourth pick in the draft? That's up to scouts, but let's assume the answer is yes.
That brings us back to the bargain bin. What if you can get Manziel another way _ he certainly won't cost a high draft pick at this point _ and land an impact defensive player to help the team immediately in 2016 when Tony Romo and Dez Bryant (presumably) are fully healthy? How much better is that than a quarterback you are hoping to sit?
And that's what brings me back to favoring the temptation Manziel represents.
It seems obvious he would prefer to play in Dallas. But would that allow Johnny Manziel, the person, to mature or would it send Johnny Football, the party animal, the opposite direction while simply making traffic on McKinney Ave. worse for the rest of us?
The Cowboys need to do more than an exhaustive film study on Manziel. They must determine if the person is ready to grow up and become more than a celebrity sighting at the blackjack table.
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